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Carly Fiorina
Carleton "Carly" Sneed Fiorina[1] (born Cara Carleton Sneed on September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman. As vice-president at AT&T in 1996, she directed the strategy and orchestrated the initial public offering (IPO) of Lucent, the most successful IPO in U.S. history up to that point in time. In 1998, Fortune magazine listed her as #1 "most powerful woman in business."[2] The next year, Fiorina switched to the technology company Hewlett-Packard (HP) and became its chief executive officer. In 2000, she also became HP?s chairman of the board. With the support of the Board of Directors, she led HP into a controversial merger with rival Compaq in 2002. During her tenure, the market halved HP?s value and the company incurred heavy job losses.[3] When Fiorina was asked by the Board of Directors to step down in 2005, the company stated that Fiorina had put in place ?a plan that has given HP the capabilities to compete and win" and that HP "look[ed] forward to accelerating execution of the company's strategy". [4] Fiorina was an economic advisor to 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain.[5]
Early life and educationCara Carleton Sneed was born in Austin, Texas to Joseph Tyree Sneed III, a constitutional law scholar, law school professor and dean, and later federal judge, and Madelon Juergens Sneed, a portrait and abstract artist. She attended Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina for her senior year; the family frequently relocated during this time. Fiorina received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and medieval history from Stanford University in 1976. She attended the UCLA School of Law but dropped out after one semester. Fiorina received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in marketing from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1980. She received a Master of Science in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management under the Sloan Fellows program in 1989. Early careerFiorina worked various secretarial positions, including at HP as a temporary worker working for Kelly Services (then Kelly Girls). Fiorina worked as a receptionist at Marcus & Millichap and was a broker briefly. During her speech at the 2006 ICSC convention in Las Vegas, Fiorina noted that her time at Marcus & Millichap helped her learn how to navigate the business world. Fiorina taught English in Italy; her first husband's career had taken them to that country. AT&T (1980-1995)Fiorina joined AT&T in 1980 as a management trainee and rose to become a Senior Vice President. Lucent Technologies (1995-1999)
Hewlett-Packard Company (1999-2005)Fiorina joined Hewlett-Packard Company on July 19 1999 as CEO, succeeding Lewis Platt.[15] She was not involved in the decision to spin-off Agilent Technologies but she presided over the process of implementing this decision. She often referred to her efforts as an attempt to "Reinvent HP." During the general business downturn in 2001, Fiorina opted for 7,000 layoffs.[16] Throughout her career at HP, Fiorina was a very visible CEO. Her business travel included interactions with Hollywood entertainers and politicians. Her actions prompted the San Jose Mercury News to speculate that she might later run for election to public office. In 2001 she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Forbes magazine. Compaq mergerIn 2002, in the wake of the bursting of the Tech Bubble, Fiorina proposed a controversial merger with arch-rival Compaq. She campaigned for this plan, and it was implemented despite public clashes with board member Walter Hewlett[17] -- the son of HP co-founder William Hewlett. The merger temporarily put HP in the top spot in the personal computer industry (ahead of Dell Computer Corp). After the merger, quarterly results were inconsistent and the share price stayed stagnant. HP also saw an exodus of top managerial talent, mostly from the Compaq side, including Michael Capellas, Jeff Clarke, Mary McDowell, and the forced resignation of Peter Blackmore. HP's services business continued to lose market share to IBM, and HP had to over-rely on its always-lucrative printer division to hold onto overall profitability. On January 7, 2004, at a meeting with members of the U.S. Congress, Fiorina said, "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore. We have to compete for jobs as a nation."[18][19][20] Her statements angered Bay Area workers who felt that lower wages overseas encouraged U.S. corporations to use less-qualified, offshore workers, instead of better-qualified American ones.[21] Fiorina responded to this criticism by publishing a clarifying op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal.[22] Fiorina was named in the Time 100 for 2004.[23] DepartureAs HP's performance slowed, the Board of Directors became increasingly concerned. In early January 2005, the HP Board of Directors presented Fiorina with a four-page list of issues the board had with Fiorina's performance.[24] The board proposed a plan to shift her authority to HP division heads, which Fiorina resisted.[25] A week after the meeting, the plan was leaked to the Wall Street Journal.[26] On 9 February 2005, Carly Fiorina was dismissed as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard. Fiorina said in a statement: "While I regret that the board and I have differences about how to execute HP's strategy, I respect their decision. HP is a great company and I wish all the people of HP much success in the future."[27]She was replaced by Patricia C. Dunn as Chairman, and then-C.F.O. Robert Wayman as C.E.O.[27] Hewlett-Packard's stock jumped 7% on news of her departure.[28] Under Hewlett-Packard's severance agreement, Carly Fiorina received US$21 million in cash, which was 2.5 times her base annual salary.[29] On March 8 2006, two large institutional investors filed suit against Hewlett-Packard for violating its own severance cap when it doled out a multimillion-dollar payment to Fiorina as part of her termination agreement.[30] After Fiorina's departure from Hewlett-Packard in 2005, the company quickly prospered, overtaking Dell as the top-selling computer maker in the world. Her defenders, and even some critics, credit her with laying the foundations for that prosperity.[31][32] Post-HP activitiesOn 9 October 2006, Fiorina released her book, Tough Choices: A Memoir, about her career and her views on such issues as what constitutes a leader, how women can thrive in business and the role technology will continue to play in reshaping our world. She then launched a book tour, with several appearances scheduled for Silicon Valley locations.[33] On 10 October 2006 while she was interviewed on the Charlie Rose Show, Fiorina asserted that her leadership was strong throughout, and that the Compaq merger was well conceived, but misunderstood by the Board.[34] During her book tour, Fiorina said she is considering a political career or some other form of "public service". She was also open to becoming CEO of another public company.[35] Fiorina continues to promote an expansion of H-1B visa guest worker visas. [36] In a commencement address at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University on May 7, 2005, Fiorina said about HP: "The worst thing I could have imagined happened. I lost my job in the most public way possible, and the press had a field day with it all over the world. And guess what? I'm still here. I am at peace and my soul is intact. I could have given it away and the story would be different."[37] Fiorina was reported to have signed with Fox Business Network to become a frequent business commentator on the newly-formed cable network, intended to be a competitor to the CNBC cable network.[38] Fiorina holds positions on the board of trustees of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum. She is an Honorary Fellow of the London Business School.[39] In early September 2005, Fiorina was named a director at Revolution Health Group, a venture formed by Steve Case.[40] In October 2005, Fiorina joined the board of computer security company Cybertrust.[41] In April 2006, Fiorina became an independent member of the board of directors for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and serves on the audit and compensation committees.[42] Political activityFiorina endorsed Senator John McCain as the Republican nominee in the 2008 presidential elections and campaigned with him.[43] In early 2008, Fiorina was referred to in media sources as a potential Vice President in a McCain administration.[44] At an economic round-table with the senator in January 2008, Fiorina praised McCain, claiming that: "John McCain is a man who understands what the role of government should be, and what the role of government should not be."[45] On March 7 2008, Fiorina was named "Chair of Victory, 2008", an RNC coordinated group to raise money and conduct get out the vote activities, by the Republican National Committee. She also stated then that she would additionally be a point person for the McCain campaign as related to business and economic affairs, as well as publicly advocating the Republican Party.[46] On September 3 2008, Fiorina addressed the Republican National Convention.[47] Earlier that day, she defended the selection of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate and declared that Palin was being subjected to sexist attacks,[48] a charge she repeated a few days later in response to a Saturday Night Live skit in which Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin were lampooned by actresses Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.[49] Fiorina has defended Sarah Palin against the charge of lack of experience, describing her as "a person of great accomplishment".[50] In response to questions during a radio interview on September 15, 2008 she stated that Palin lacks the experience to run a major company like Hewlett Packard, "[b]ut that's not what she's running for. Running a corporation is a different set of things." Fiorina later amended her comment stating that none of the candidates on either ticket, including John McCain, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, had the experience to run a major corporation.[51] News outlets reported that the McCain campaign was displeased with Fiorina's statements;[52][53][54][55] Fiorina subsequently canceled a CNN television interview[56] and did not appear as scheduled at a rally in Florida. [57] Personal lifeFiorina has two siblings. Her first marriage was to Todd Bartlem, a Stanford classmate, in June 1977. In 1985, she married AT&T executive Frank J. Fiorina (he opted for early retirement in 1998). It was the second marriage for both. She helped to raise her two stepdaughters Traci and Lori Ann. They attempted to have children together but, as Fiorina puts it: "That wasn't God's plan."[58] She currently lives in Washington, D.C. and Palo Alto, California. Further reading
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